


Nursemaid

by Cumberbatch Critter (ivelostmyspectacles)



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 07:57:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6462208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivelostmyspectacles/pseuds/Cumberbatch%20Critter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You can't sit there and actually... play nursemaid."</p>
<p>"Wanna bet?"</p>
<p>"Bull, there is no nursing necessary."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nursemaid

**Author's Note:**

> Otherwise known as: _But Imagine Bull in a Nurse's Outfit!_ ~~notreally~~
> 
> Sickfics again, always sickfics. I'm toying with another Adoribull sickfic idea that isn't nearly so fluffy, but it's only half-formed, and I have some more FenHawke I want to write. We'll see which happens first. And if anyone is actually interested in sickfics here, I suppose. xD
> 
> I do not own _Dragon Age: Inquisition_. Thanks for reading!

Dorian had known right from the very moment he had rolled out of bed that he was sick. It wasn't something that he could just think ‘perhaps I drank too much’ or ‘I really need to get more sleep’. It was the strange feeling in his head, not quite pain and not quite _right_ , that settled uncomfortably upon his consciousness as he pushed himself to his feet. The bare floor felt cold beneath his feet, which wasn't wholly a surprise since his toes were _always cold_ , but the way that the world seemed to tilt for a half second before it righted itself and steadied. It was the beat of his heart in his chest and the pulse in his ears, just a touch too loud, too aware of it to be normal. And the pain that nagged at the back of his throat, stinging as he swallowed against early morning dry mouth was a pain that he expected would not go away with the usual morning cup of tea.

It was not a surprise. They had only come back from the Storm Coast, the crash of thunder and lightning haunting his uneasy sleep when they had camped. One could only traverse through a cold rain for so long without resulting in a quick drop in one's immune system.

It was also something that Dorian could very much not deal with right now, certain that Trevelyan would have them back out somewhere without a day's rest. He knew that they were on a rush to find these artifacts, and he wouldn't complain. These missions were better than inactivity, and once the artifacts were found, Dorian could truly rest before the next thing came up.

He, naturally, underestimated how quickly this illness was going to progress.

By the time that he had found his way to breakfast, and had taken it with his morning cup of tea up to the library, the gentle pulse beneath his temple had turned into a crashing force, and he sank into his armchair heavily with a heavy exhale of breath. This was most certainly going to be a doozy.

The tea did not soothe his aching throat, and his hands were shaking a little when he put his dishes aside when finished. Perhaps he would beg off adventuring today.

... Ugh.

He dozed off in the chair, head propped on his hand, only waking up when the Inquisitor came to look for him.

"Dorian? Are you alright?"

"I-" here he sat himself up straight, and hesitated when the pain travelled slowly down his spine, into his ribcage, shaking his arms and exemplifying the weakness in his legs. His flesh raised with goosebumps as a chill swept over him, and Dorian cursed their stay in the Storm Coast yet again. "I'm afraid I'm not feeling well," he admitted, and slumped back down in the chair.

Trevelyan frowned. "You're sick?"

"Yes, I think so." Better to admit it while they were home, rather than halfway into their latest trek; here he could curl up in the armchair and eventually find his way back to bed, sleep off whatever he'd gotten down ill with. It was inconveniencing, but Dorian was smart enough to know when to take it easy. "Know so, in fact. I think our running through the rain caught up with me." He smiled wryly. "Sorry, but I think I'll have to sit this one out."

"Are you going to be okay? Have you seen the healer?"

"No, I'm just going to hit the hay, I believe. Sleep will do me good. Don't worry," he added, seeing _that_ look, the worried one that internally made him chuckle a little that someone cared that much. "I'll be fine, my friend. If you're looking for another mage, Vivienne or Solas are more than capable replacements. I'll be as right as rain in no time."

"If you're certain..."

"Certainly I'm certain." Dorian smiled and saw the Inquisitor off with no small amount of concern, shoulders slumping as he could slide down a little further in the chair. He was prepared to follow his own directions, pick himself up and go back to bed. With the party out on their mission, no one would want him for at least a week. Illness was tedious, but at least he would have the chance to take time off for it.

He'd do that. In a few moments.

The stairs seemed horrifyingly unending, he realised those few moments later, and he really shouldn't have bothered getting out of his bed this morning at all, should have he? Evidently he wasn't as smart as he _thought_.

"Kadan!"

Dorian jumped at the shout, stumbling on the cement stairs. The world was doing its spinning act again. Not something he enjoyed, that, and it was going to make him _fall_ -

"Careful there," Bull said, large hand settling into the small of Dorian's back.

His eyebrows pinched together. Bull was supposed to have gone with Trevelyan. Hadn't they left yet? Dorian had thought enough time had passed for them to have gone. Either that, or his sense of time passing was off. That was probably a likely thing, too.

"Boss told me you're sick. Can you walk?" Bull had to stoop a little in the stairwell, and there was far too much worry in his eyes, _so_ much worry.

"Yeah. Yes." Dorian braced his shoulder against the wall. "Just... give me a moment, please. I thought you were going with the Inquisitor, Bull, what are you doing here?"

"Boss told me you were sick and that I didn't need to go with them. Solas and Cole to go with them instead."

Dorian laughed weakly. "Oh." Had that happened just so Bull could stay with him? Probably. Trevelyan was good like that. "So, you're going to be my nursemaid?" he joked wearily, as he felt himself sliding down the wall slightly.

"Yes," Bull replied confidently. "And doctor's orders, _I'm_ taking _you_ back to bed." Before Dorian could even find the mental acuity to respond to that, Bull had swept him off his feet and into his arms.

"Bull-" Dorian rasped, frowning as Bull nestled him against his bare chest. "I _can_ walk."

"And you were doing such a good job at it kadan," Bull said cheerfully. "Standing there was giving me a cramp, short hallways, banging my horns all over this crap. Simpler this way."

Dorian sighed a little. It came out as a groan. He turned his face into Bull's chest, and tried to ignore how wobbly the world had gotten _again_.

"You're hot," Bull said as he shouldered open the door the door. The blast of air made Dorian shiver. "And not in the good way," Bull continued.

"Really? I thought I was quite cold, actually," Dorian admitted, and he heard the second door click open. He turned his head to the familiar sight of his poorly furnished room, and breathed out a sigh of relief. He didn't particularly fancy being carried like a fainting maiden in Bull's arms, but it made the process of getting here effortless. That, he could be thankful for. And, naturally, the press of Bull's warm body against his, but Dorian wouldn't say those things out loud lest it go to the lummox's head.

"You've got a fever, no doubt about that. I've felt your body enough to know that your skin isn't usually this hot." Bull deposited him gently into his bed, flinging the perfectly made covers back with a haphazard toss.

Dorian stretched slightly, rolling over on to his side. "Must you say such things?" he asked.

"It's only the truth. Up and off, kadan."

Dorian's eyes had fallen closed, watching as Bull bustled around the room. He opened then at the command, unable to grasp the meaning behind the words. He could have figured it out, certainly. It just took more effort than he was willing to expend now. "What?"

"Your clothes." Bull waved his hand. "You're going nowhere today, no need to be so stuffy and formal."

It all seemed like such a tedious task. He supposed he was right, though. But then again... "It's too _cold_."

"You have a blanket." Bull stepped into eye view again, leaning over to pluck at Dorian's robe.

Dorian let him. "A thin one at that," he grumbled.

"It's not actually cold, Dorian, your body is just tricking you into thinking it is." Bull made quick work of his clothes, throwing them aside. "You don't want to be too hot because it'll mess up your body temperature even more." Despite his cold, _so_ very cold words, Bull tucked the thin blanket up around Dorian, taking great care to gently pull it over his exposed shoulders.

"Certainly," Dorian muttered halfheartedly.

"Go to sleep, kadan."

"The thought did cross my mind." He yawned into the pillow, and pulled the blanket up to his ears. "What are you going to do? You can't sit there and actually... play nursemaid."

"Wanna bet?"

"Bull, there is no nursing necessary. You should go out with the Inquisitor."

"They left ages ago. I'm off duty until they come back." Bull was still walking back and forth, and it infuriated Dorian in a muted sort of way that he could not see what he was doing from this angle. Moving was too much effort, though, so he did not, and Bull carried on. "I don't mind nursing you back to health. I have to get you pretty as possible as quickly as I can, right? What would I do without our night-time forays?"

Dorian laughed weakly, irritating his throat, and he muffled his coughing into the pillow this time. "Is that all I am to you? A night-time foray?"

"No," Bull replied immediately, and Dorian hid his uncertain little smile into the blankets.

He knew that. He knew Bull's standing on this relationship, now. How that had changed from the beginning. Bull liked to talking about his _feelings_. It was as endearing as it was terrifying.

"Get some sleep, kadan."

"Yeah." Dorian yawned for the second time - or was it the third? He wasn't certain. The sluggishness was blending it all together. "I think I might. Good, well, good morning, Bull."

 

 

For a moment, he was in Tevinter. There was the busy press of elven slaves passing to and fro around him, the hair raising buzz of magic going used unseen around him, and the sound of his father's voice in the distance. The wind was warm, whipping his hair into his face, but it stank of blood and death, and when Dorian turned to search out his father, he found the man standing at a pile of bodies... Cassandra, Cole, Cullen. Sera, Solas. Josephine and Leliana and Blackwall. Varric and Vivienne. The Inquisitor. _Bull_.

And his father stood above them all, but it wasn't... no, it wasn't his father at all. It was _him_. Him? Crouched over the mountain of bodies, wrists slit for magic as the blood pooled beneath him, the dark aura of a demon looming over his shoulder.

Dorian awoke with a start, gasping into the cold air of his Skyhold room. His breath caught in his throat, soaking into the blanket twisted around his body, and, for an instant, he couldn't _breathe_ -

"It was just a nightmare, kadan!" Bull's knuckles slipped against his cheek before fingers gripped at the blanket, jerking it away from his throat even if it wasn't choking him. "Don't worry. I'm here."

"Oh." Dorian slammed his head back into the pillow, breath wheezing in and out as the visages of the nightmare slipped through his consciousness. " _Fuck_."

"We're all fine," Bull continued, leaning on the bed. "Your fever is giving you dreams."

Dorian sighed shakily. "... So it would seem." He turned his head, coughing into the crook of his arm. He didn't know if the trembling was the fever or the... fear.

"You're still too hot." Bull was frowning. Dorian could hear it in his voice. "Fevers are meant to go down this time of day."

Dorian licked his lips. "... How long have I been asleep?"

"Not long enough."

Dorian flinched when a cold cloth landed on his forehead, ice trickling down his temples. " _Kaffas_ , Bull."

"It'll help."

"It's _c-cold_."

"You're not very good at being sick, are you?" Bull asked gently, drying his hands on the blankets.

Dorian wanted to laugh if the energy to do it hadn't been sapped from his body. "Not particularly, amatus."

Bull leaned over again, stretching out on the bed next to him this time. Dorian had to shuffle over a bit to make room, and the cold water ran down the bridge of his nose. "You're trying to make me miserable," he complained weakly, fumbling to swipe it away.

"Lay quietly with that and I'll let you snuggle with me." Bull wiped the water away, and slipped his arm beneath Dorian, pulling him over.

He managed a small smile. "Blackmail? Truly?"

"Only for the sake of your health, kadan. Go back to sleep."

"Yes," Dorian rasped, pillowing his head on Bull's shoulder. He wasn't in any good position to argue. "I think I'll try."

"I'll keep those nightmares away," Bull said, a little loudly. It made Dorian's head hurt, but he smiled anyway as Bull went on to kiss the top of his head. "Don't you worry."

"Not worried," Dorian mumbled. He would have preferred to stay away and talk, curled up together like this. He loved this, this cuddling. Bull did, too. It worked out nicely. But his eyelids were drooping already, the smell of Bull's skin and the gentle press of Bull rubbing circles on his shoulder lulling him to sleep again.

He tried to mumble how much he cared for Bull in that moment, express his adoration with those three simple words that were still so hard for him to say. His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton, however, and he was fairly certain it came out garbled.

Bull laughed. "Love you, too, kadan."

Dorian was still smiling softly as he drifted off. And Bull was right: he kept the nightmares away this time.

 


End file.
